July 30, 2009

Yes, I’m way overdue to write this. I actually started but never finished a June 15th article entitled Birthdays, Bikinis, Buchwald and the 109th Bead. I don’t remember how bikinis were germane, but I do remember that I was going to lament another birthday, and then say thank-you to syndicated columnist Art Buchwald, whose satirical articles I grew up on. So consider yourself fortunate that you don’t have to listen to me whine about getting older … and as for thanking Mr. Buchwald … “thanks Art for a lifetime of thought provoking satire.” (The 109th bead is the “give thanks” bead on the string used by millions in meditation and prayer)

So now to the subject at hand; if you are not connected on Linked-In or some other social network, you are missing a HUGE opportunity. Recently I experienced that power in trying to connect with someone internally at a large local company. For the sake of preserving privacy, let’s call her “Margie” at a company called “Colossal.” I did not know anyone within Colossal and I sue didn’t know Margie. For business reasons, I wanted to connect with someone inside the company immediately. Here comes Linked-In. A search of Linked-In for Colossal produced several names, including Margie’s. Low and behold it just so happens that Margie was acquainted with two people in my grad school class at UCI.

I made emailed both my classmates and asked if they felt comfortable introducing me to Margie. I learned out that one of my classmates, Angie Swartz (www.linkedin.com/in/aaswartz) is good friends with Margie. By mid afternoon both classmates had contacted Margie. Well that’s all it took. By the end of the day I had a 30 minute conversation with Margie and was able to learn exactly what I wanted to know about Colossal. I now have a friend there at Colossal.

As it also turns out, my classmate Angie is somewhat of an expert on the topic of social networking. If you take a look at her profile through the link provided above, or go directly to her company website at www.squaremartinimedia.com you’ll see that she and a colleague work with business clients to establish a web presence and take advantage of the power of social media.

As we humans in business work hard to connect and sometimes struggle to find ways to gain access to a particular business prospect, it’s refreshing and, for me a relief, to discover the power residing within these relatively new tools as avenues to connection. And since we’ve already explained the reference to the 109th bead, “thanks Angie,” “thanks Margie,” and “thank you Linked In.”

Mike Stockwell writes this blog for his clients, friends and frankly, for his own entertainment. Mike is the founder of The Pacific Group – Business Advisory Services and works with owners and executives small and mid-size businesses in California and Hawaii, helping them to bring balance back to their lives and take their business to the next level. Find out more about Mike and his business at: www.TPG-BAS.com and contact him at Mike@TPG-BAS.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or digital, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system or search, without permission in writing from the author.

April 2, 2009

Well, the results of my last blog are in … I was contacted by many of you who were pleased that I was able to effect the termination of the CEO of that dastardly organization I mentioned in my last writing. (Would that I were that influential !!) My sister-in-law, Viki, noted that the CEO “really got his comeuppance.” I couldn’t help but think that his leaving with a $23 Million golden parachute was a pretty cushy comeuppance.

One terrific result of the last edition is it allowed me to reconnect with many friends and colleagues who I had not talked with for as much as 25 years. It’s amazing how disconnected we get from people we care about, or those who were an important part of our lives for a significant period of time. I heard from one friend, Barb, who I’ve known for every day of my 55+ years. Another, Jerry, retired from SRPD and now lives in Napa and is working as a security consultant for a software company he affectionately refers to as “Lo-jack for laptops.” (Absolute Software Corp.) Hey Jerry, why hasn’t everybody heard of “Lo-jack for Laptops?” It’s a catchy phrase capitalizing on a bit of alliteration; everyone should know instantly what the product is about. Come to think of it, maybe everyone does know about it and I’m the only one that’s clueless!

We all know about the elevator pitch right? … the essence of your business articulated in 15 to 20 seconds, purportedly the time it takes to ride the elevator to your destination. In grad school, UC Irvine had very slow elevators, resulting in much longer pitches. (You know the pitch where you’re sorry you asked and you wished that your office was on the 2nd floor; or that you had taken the stairs!) I think Absolute Software Corp. now holds the world record for the shortest elevator pitch. I tried to say it and time myself at the same time. My tongue and eyes don’t work well at the same time (I stumbled and couldn’t even focus on the stop watch) but I think it was under two seconds. As we move to smaller, lighter more portable technology, I’m thinking that Lo-jack for Laptops is a product whose time has arrived.

So this begs the question. Do you have your “elevator pitch” down pat? Is it 15-20 seconds? Does it roll off your tongue without even having to think about it? Do most or all of your employees know it?

If the answer is “No” to any of the above questions, please put it near the top of your Things to Do list. Those of you who are my consulting clients (yes … you know who you are) expect that I will be asking about this during our next conversation.

Mike Stockwell writes this blog for his clients, friends and frankly, for his own entertainment. Mike is the founder of The Pacific Group – Business Advisory Services and works with owners and executives small and mid-size businesses in California and Hawaii, helping them to bring balance back to their lives and take their business to the next level. Find out more about Mike and his business at: www.TPG-BAS.com and contact him at Mike@TPG-BAS.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or digital, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system or search, without permission in writing from the author.